Child of the Fox
by sleepingwiththefish
Summary: Akiri Uzumaki is the child of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuuga. She is expected to be somebody she isn't and knows that until something happens. Nobody anticipated the heir of the Uchiha clan to love her so much that he left, eager to prepare himself to love. Because when you're the Child of the Fox, nothing is certain. Not Love. Not even Life.
1. Chapter 1

Akiri grinned as she ran past the trees, knowing that even though most everyone else was in front of her, she was probably enjoying herself more than anybody else with her. Running just beside her was her closest friend, Itachi. He was the same age as her, but just three months older. His eyes were bright green but his hair was jet black, which was the clash of his parents.

"Come on, Akiri! I don't wanna lose again!" Itachi complained, laughing as Akiri jumped and swung on the branch above her head.

They had only just received their chunin jackets and were training with all the other Chunin ranked ninjas. Of course, for Itachi, coming first in the Chunin exams had been a walk in the park. His father, Sasuke Uchiha, was one of the highest ranking ninjas in the village and he possessed the sharingan already. Everyone expected big things from Itachi and he liked it that way. However, Akiri had only just scraped her way through, having no real talent or interest in the life of a ninja. In reality, it was just a formality as the daughter of the sixth Hokage.

"Uchiha! Uzumaki! Hurry your asses up!" The Jounin in charge screamed, her voice echoing through the forest.

Akiri chuckled as she rolled into the clearing, grinning at all the other Chunin. However, their faces were far from impressed and Akiri soon lost her grin and instead, rolled her eyes. Nobody liked waiting around and nobody evidently liked her. Akiri was famous for not really caring about becoming a ninja, but nobody would get rid of her because of her heritage. Either she or her older brother would become the next Hokage and she was supposed to respect that.

Hinato Uzumaki was the really famous one. Famous for his black hair and lilac-white eyes, Hinato was expected of great things. Especially since he had come first in the Chunin exams six years ago and was now ANBU. He was classed as an A-Rank already and was expected to become the Hokage more than anyone else in the entire village. But, Akiri was being trained as a back-up. If something happened to Hinato, she was expected to take the place of Hokage and smile like she truly wanted that place. Hinato wanted it more than anything and it was well within his sights, so Akiri didn't really bother.

"Pathetic, the two of you. Akiri, go run twelve laps of the village!" The Jounin overseer screamed as rain began to pour. "Everyone else, get home!"

Sighing, Akiri began running, knowing that she would have to keep moving if she was going to complete twelve laps. Irritated, she ran onward, knowing that somewhere, Itachi would join her and probably run with her for a while. He wasn't being punished because everyone knew his capabilities and Akiri was the trouble-maker. Everyone seemed to think that Akiri was manipulating him somehow and though she didn't see that as true, it wasn't like an Uchiha to stray from their path. Not one of them did.

So, Akiri ran onward through the torrent of rain that was still going by her fifth lap. Holding steady, the rain had soaked her to the bone and it was no longer comforting to her over-heating limbs. Quickly, Akiri removed her Scarlet jacket and wrapped it around her waist, leaving her in a fishnet shirt and bandeau to cover her breasts. Running onward, she passed an ANBU who caught up with her quickly.

"What did you do?" Hinato asked, sighing at his younger sister.

"None of your business." Akiri hissed, urging herself to speed up.

"You realize that you will have to start behaving properly soon." Hinato said, "Everyone expects you to be like me. You are expected to be a child prodigy so start living up to your namesake, okay?"

"Go away Hinato!" Akiri snapped, her anger flaring.

"Calm down, I'm just telling you, imbecile." Hinato said, his voice calm as water in a stream.

And just like that, Akiri took off.

Sitting down on the head of her father, Akiri looked at the village before her. The village that her brother would one day own and hone into his own machine so that it worked perfectly before his own eyes. To become Hokage, you needed talent and that was something Akiri had none of. Everyone had expected big things from Akiri because she looked like her father. The same unruly blonde hair that messily hung down her back and the same bright blue eyes that beckoned you to gaze into them and feel their mischief.

She wouldn't lie, Akiri wanted to become Hokage, just as much as her Father had done when he was a child. Nowadays, Akiri wasn't a child and at fifteen years old, she had achieved very little in her lifetime. Like her father, Akiri had an ability with wind but also water like her mother, Hinata. In the end, it had become clear that Akiri was a rare case who could control wind and water, meaning she had a rare affinity and a common also. However, Hinato had a chakra affinity for wind and earth. It was strange to the village, considering they didn't need a Kekkei Genkei to use two different elements. According to the other village members, this was an entirely new concept as it had never been seen before.

But just because she was different didn't mean Akiri had talent, and it didn't guarantee her place as Hokage. That was a disappointment as she knew she had strengths in different places. But nobody really took her seriously because it was hardly apparent.

"You know, moping around does little to help, Akiri."

Akiri turned her head to look at Itachi, his face calm and pulled into a small, but friendly smile. There was a tiny bit of sauce at the corner of his mouth where Itachi must've just recently eaten his third meal of the day but he looked just as normal. However, he'd changed into a pair of baggy trousers and now donned just a fishnet shirt over his bare torso.

"Oh hush. I'm busy." Akiri hissed.

The sun was setting and Akiri felt nostalgia wash over her with a vengeance. She pulled up her boots and stood up, pulling her scarlet jacket over her arms so she could leave and go home. Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

It was dark and Akiri was finishing her final lap, eager to do as she had been told to do. She was still running, now just past the waterfall when she heard the sound of ninjas running. Out of confusion and curiosity, Akiri found herself running toward the sound, just to see who was running. That's when she stopped in horror.

Dragging a girl behind him was a Jounin ninja who Akiri recognized almost instantly. The face that she'd seen earlier and had told her to run the very training she was doing at the time. He was dragging the girl, yanking her by her pink hair as he walked onward. The girl clearly couldn't talk, what with her mouth having had a sort of tape covering it. Yet, she squirmed and her dark eyes dripped black tears from her heavy eyeliner.

Akiri held back a gasp as she recognized Ayame, Itachi's younger sister and the Iris of the village. At least, that was what everyone called her because Ayame had near purple eyes with tiny flecks of yellow in the inside. That and her name meant iris, so she was the Iris of Konoha.

Akiri felt her mind reel as she realized what was about to happen. The information was obscure but within the last six months four young girls below the age of sixteen had been raped and had no idea where or who by. It was clear their memories had been removed by some sort of jutsu since the leader of the police within Konoha, Sasuke Uchiha, had tried to bring back the girls' memories but only succeeded in making them scream until he was forced to remove their memories again.

This was the man and Akiri knew it and her mind erupted in ways to help. She knew her best chance was to find her brother or another ANBU but there was no telling she would manage to find one without losing the two. And this was Ayame, the girl that Akiri felt a sort of sisterly love toward. Immediately, she formed a plan in her mind to save Ayame.

"Sempai, please help!" Akiri gasped, running straight into the arms of the Jounin man.

The man looked confused and as though he'd been caught, but he quickly changed his mind and his eyes focused on Akiri and how ruffled she looked. Akiri had messed up her hair and removed her jacket to reveal the fishnet shirt and bandeau. Her short crimson skirt had been ripped to look even smaller and this clearly distracted the man.

"These men were chasing me. Thank god I found you." Akiri gasped, hugging him and moving her hand, signalling Ayame to get away.

The man dropped Ayame's hair and placed his dirt-covered hands onto Akiri's hips. Ayame nodded, running off silently as Akiri pressed her fine breasts against the man's torso and gently scratched his back. The way to capture the man's attention was to act like a seductress, which worked fine. Akiri slid to the floor as two Kage Bunshins wandered into the clearing, disguised as drunken men.

Akiri watched the Jounin beat her bunshins and she quickly set up her trap. She began throwing kunai and the one struck the man at the back of his neck. Blood gushed out immediately and he snarled in pain.

"Agh! You whore!" He yelled as the shadow clones evaporated into dust and Akiri began to realize her mistake. She'd struck too early and she was going to be beaten. She put up a fight, using her shadow clones to confuse the Jounin but he knocked her down and out in under five minutes.

"**Useless, aren't you girl?**"

"Who's there?"

"**I'm the kyuubi cub. Get up, now!**"

Akiri looked about to see something like a sewer with metal bars holding back a giant fox. The nine tails. Akiri gasped in shock. The creäture that was stood before her was beautiful with its sleek red fur and bright red eyes. Menacing yet it possessed an ethereal beauty also. Looking down, Akiri realized she was sat in water and she quickly stood up to look the giant fox in the eyes.

"Kyuubi cub?" Akiri asked, her eyes focused on the massive creäture.

"What are you asking for you fucking idiot?! Wake up and protect yourself you fucking idiot!" The fox roared as the place Akiri was in began to crumble away from her vision.

Akiri opened her eyes and punched the man in the face, feeling a sudden surge of power course through her veins and make her rise to her feet. Her nails began to lengthen and she bent over so she was stood on all fours like the beast inside of her. Red chakra began to surround the shape of her body and Akiri felt the urge to rip into the man's throat as her canines lengthened.

The Jounin opposite Akiri gasped and turned to run but Akiri was faster, stronger, better. She lunged straight for him and bit into his arm as he let out a terrible scream of pain. The red chakra surrounding Akiri slashed at his face, leaving four bloody lines down his cheek. Her two tails swished and Akiri felt her sanity begin to leave.

"Oh god. Call the Hokage."

Akiri turned to look at the people looking at her. Stood there were Itachi, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinato, Akiri's own brother. It was Hinato who had spoke, his eyes wide as he stared at Akiri and she felt a surge of joy rush through her veins as three words echoed through her head. Three words that Akiri hadn't heard directed at her before. **Well done, kid**.

She felt the power melt away from her.

The red chakra fade and her body return to it's normal form.

And then she collapsed.


	3. Chapter 3

Akiri woke up looking into a pair of green eyes that she recognized all too well, though they belonged to another. Sakura Uchiha had taken over the Konoha Hospital and was looking at Akiri with the kind parental eyes Itachi had explained to her. The same look that Akiri's own mother, Hinata, gave her every single day.

"You're awake. Everyone will be pleased. Are you thirsty?" Sakura asked, smiling kindly.

"A little." Akiri croaked, her voice throaty as though she'd been smoking far too many cigarettes.

"Here." Sakura said, handing Akiri a glass.

Gulping down the fresh water, Akiri felt her body relax as the cool liquid slid down her throat and into her stomach. The feeling was soothing and Akiri had to stop the sigh of calm relaxation. And that's when her brother burst into the room, causing both Sakura and Akiri to gasp in shock and near jump out of their skin.

"Akiri!"

Eyes wide, Akiri watched her two parents walk in also. Naruto looked almost depressed whilst Hinata looked like she was at least trying to keep smiling for her daughter's sake. But Naruto knew the weight of what was happening, he knew the struggle that Akiri would go through because of the Kyuubi. With his own eyes, Naruto had experienced growing up with that very monstrosity and he had faced every single ounce of prejudice that had been thrown at him.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, Hinato, Sakura, but I would like you to leave so I may speak with my daughter. Alone."

Nobody questioned Naruto and each of them left and when the door was closed, the pain in Naruto's eyes became more evident. His blue eyes that mirrored her own were filled with a type of pain that you only felt had you experienced it first hand. He sat on the bed, looking at her with those pained eyes. Finally, he sighed before speaking.

"Y'know what this means, right?" Naruto asked, sighing.

"The kyuubi is in both of us, right?" Akiri asked, eyes focused on her parent.

"**Well done sharp shit.**"

"That's right. But you haven't got the markings so I don't know how you're holding the Kyuubi inside. As much as I hate to say it, this is a path you have to walk alone. What you need, to survive, are friends who will stay with you. They will force you to continue when you feel like giving up. And when you think it's all over, they will be there." Naruto said. "I never had family, but we are here for you, so you do have family. You will live through the bastard that is the Kyuubi."

"**Fuck you too.**"

"Alright? I just want you to know-"

"I know." Akiri said. "I'm more than ready to fight."

Naruto looked at his daughter and saw himself in her as she placed her hand to the ninja band on her head, keeping her blonde hair out of her face. She was his own blood, and he knew she would survive.

"My enemies won't even be able to touch my band."

Akiri grinned at her father, knowing he understood that she was going to be a great nin. Those had been the words of his close friend, Sasuke, though they had failed him incredibly. They would not fail Akiri. They were the complete truth.

Akiri was training. She'd been out of hospital for a week and already she was busily training to make herself better. It was as though the Kyuubi had lit a fire within Akiri and now that she was awake, that fire was more than alive. In fact, the fire was raging and taking over completely so she was filled with it's excessive heat and burning passion to become stronger, faster and better.

"The way I learnt was to imagine wind as two lines pressing against each other to make one thin line." Naruto said, watching as his daughter sliced through a waterfall just as he had done all those years ago.

"This is stupid." Akiri gasped when she'd finally done.

"**Stupid shit. I'm helping you!**"

"It took me nearly a week to master this, but it's taken you just four days, Akiri. Are you alright?" Naruto asked as Akiri pulled back the two hundred Kage Bunshin she'd brought in to help her. She gasped and fell to her knees, coughing up blood as she crouched there. Finally, after a moment of hacking up blood, she stood up and gave her dad a thumbs up.

"I got this." Akiri gasped.

"Y'sure?" Naruto asked.

"Definitely."

Akiri jumped down from the waterfall and swan dived into the water, landing with a tiny splash. By the time she'd resurfaced, her Father was long gone and Akiri nodded. She swam to the edge of the lake before heading toward the forest that surrounded the place she was when Akiri realized there was something missing from her training. She hadn't focused on her water chakra either, though she supposed it couldn't have been too hard now that she knew how to do it with wind.

So, Akiri began, eager to learn how to manipulate water. She focused on the water she was sat in and felt the heat rise up in her again as the Kyuubi tried to find it's way out. No! Water was cool, calm and relaxed.

"**Come on! I can help and you know it.**"

Ignoring the tailed beast, Akiri began to spin, faster and faster until she closed her eyes and felt the water push away from her. And soon, she was on her feet, spinning, as the water in the lake pushed away from her. When she finally opened her eyes, she was stood at the bottom of the lake, looking at two massive tsunami waves on either side of the lake, giving her something like a valley to stand in.

"**Wow. Nice one, kiddo.**"

Stunned, Akiri dropped her hands and the two waves came crashing towards her.

"Akiri!"

Akiri saw Itachi rushing toward her through the valley but he wasn't close enough. As the waves crashed down, she felt the calming effect of the water relax her. Body and Mind. In just seconds, Akiri felt the air make something of a bubble around her as the water ravaged the rocks and plants on the bottom of the lake. But, Akiri swam onward, searching for Itachi in the water.

"**Accept my help.**"

"No!" Akiri screamed as she latched onto Itachi's arm and dragged him to the surface with her. She used Wind power to propel herself upwards until she jumped far out of the water, taking Itachi out with her.


	4. Chapter 4

Akiri coughed as she placed pressure onto his chest, causing him to cough and hack up water as he bolted upright. Stunned, Itachi looked about before focusing on Akiri, his eyes wide with shock. He placed a hand to her headband, touching the cold metal of her headband with his index and middle finger. Smiling, he chuckled before bowing his head.

"You're getting good at this, Akiri. Well done."

Akiri chuckled before coughing, a steady stream of blood sliding from the corner of her mouth and down her chin. There was immense pain within her chest and it hurt, oh sweet god, it hurt. Bloody tears slid from her eyes and her nose began to bleed also. She moved her hand from her mouth and gasped when she saw the blood on her hand.

"Itachi?" Akiri asked, eyes wide.

"**SHIT!**"

"Akiri? Oh God." Itachi gasped, catching her as she passed out. Her small, thin body collapsed into Itachi's arms and he began to run at a speed he didn't even know he could reach. Running onward, he headed straight for the hospital, the girl looking dead in his arms. There was a look to her that told him he was running out of time. He wasn't fast enough. Strong enough.

"Shit, Akiri!" Itachi gasped as he got to the hospital, lying her lifeless body down on a stretcher.

"Ita-kun?"

Itachi span to look at the girl with her blue eyes and blonde hair, her body suddenly looking limp as though all the passion and life were flowing from her mouth as she tried to breathe. Her chest moved in uneven bursts and it looked as though she was in immense pain. Like every breath was causing her immense pain.

"Akiri!" He gasped, pulling her up so she was sat up.

"Take this, Ita-kun." Akiri whispered, handing him a necklace from her pocket. "This is my gift to you."

And then she went completely limp.

"Akiri? Akiri! Wake up! Somebody help!" Itachi yelled as he shook Akiri's lifeless body.

After that, it was a bit of a blur. Sure, people had told Itachi that his name was a bad-omen. That his name meant he was the bringer of bad luck and even death, much to his own horror. People had said that when death approaches someone you love, you will never feel the same way. You will feel as though a film has been placed over your eyes and the life inside of you has gone numb. But only for a while. After that, it almost returns to normal but you will feel like there is a small part of life missing until life itself ends for you also. Itachi felt the numb, the film over his eyes hiding more than the white sheet they placed over her corpse.

Itachi couldn't remember much of that day or the next. Medical ninjas trying their hardest to revive Akiri's lifeless body to no real improvement. At one time, one medical ninja thought he'd done it, but in actual fact her heart only beat two more times before falling silent once again. Her blue eyes didn't flutter open once. Her blonde hair didn't move. Her blushing cheeks didn't light up. Her smile didn't awaken...

Naruto cried that day, burying his head into his wife's hair. And he watched as Hinata Hyuuga, the Hyuuga Lily began to cry her eyes out. Itachi watched as Hinato, for the first time in his life, let a few tears fall as he looked at the lifeless body of his sister. Naruto tried to speak to him, Itachi saw that, but Itachi neither felt his lips move or even tried to create words that expressed what had happened. Because, how was he supposed to tell the Hokage that his daughter had placed so much strain on herself that she built a sixty-foot wall of water on either side of her. And then, the Kyuubi was adding even more pressure to her. Itachi had just sat there, even when his Father came in.

"Itachi. Can you talk?" Sasuke asked, though the only thing that moved were Itachi's eyes. They moved to look at Sasuke and even Sasuke withdrew breath at the look. It was the same look that Sasuke's older brother had given him before running from the village.

And when the pair walked home, Itachi felt the numb inside him grow colder. Akiri was gone, her body soon to be reunited with the ground from which her soul had been borne. Her soul and joy long gone, now replaced with nothing in that empty shell that was her body.

When her funeral came about, Akiri's body was lay on a white rock so that everybody could see her face once more. She'd died just two days earlier and she still looked alive. Even the faint smell of roses was still there, surrounding her body like it always had.

Around her were thousands of white candles, their light flames shining and illuminating her pale face. Sasuke had taken to wearing the necklace she'd given him and it was the same crimson red as the flames that burned on those candles. Photo frames with her picture in showed the hundreds of people there how her life had been. In every picture she was grinning, laughing or just giving a subtle smile. The one Itachi treasured most was the one small picture of her and him as seven-year old children, sitting on a swing outside the academy.

"Wake up. Please."

Itachi whispered it into her corpses ear, begging her as the first tear he'd ever shed slid from his eyes. The numb within him became painful and Itachi gasped for breath as he tried to inhale, only to be met by a sharp shooting pain.

"Wake up, dammit!" He yelled, shaking her frozen stiff body.

Naruto and Sasuke pulled him away as everyone at the funeral gave him a sad look. It was well-known of their friendship all around the village, but nobody expected Akiri to die so young. Not one person there knew the truth that their parents had arranged the two children to wed, removing any possibility of arguments between the Uchiha Clan and the Uzumaki Clan ever again. But that would never happen now.

"Goodbye, Akiri." Ayame whispered, kissing Akiri's warm forehead before following her Father, Brother and the Hokage outside.

And that was when Itachi ran.

He ran like his life depended on it, eager to remove the numb feeling and become stronger. He would never lose somebody and he was determined to become better. And that was how the eldest child of the Uchiha Clan became a Missing-nin.

* * *

So, I wanted to put some real stuff into this story. I wan't to show just how far the human emotions can be stretched when it comes to love.

I wrote this chapter listening to one song in particular because I felt like it fitted a little. Or maybe I'm crazy.

You decide. ;D

~Kirara


	5. Chapter 5

"**Get up you lazy bitch!**"

Akiri opened her eyes and looked at the fox, the way he crouched over her like she was his newest meal. It didn't scare her, she knew what had happened and that she was dead. The Kyuubi had placed too much pressure on her body as it was and she'd pushed herself too far. She was dead and this was some cruel afterlife.

"What do you want, Kyuubi-kun?" Akiri asked, lying there in the water.

"**It's been two fucking years. You're seventeen fucking years old and now we can fucking take this world by storm!**" The Kyuubi roared, grinning like some sort of sick psychopath. Every one of it's sharp canine-like teeth were clear to her eyes but they no longer scared her. She was dead, so she couldn't die again.

"I'm tired, Kyuubi. Please shut up." Akiri said, her voice dull and lacking any sort of real emotion.

"**Get the fuck up you whore!**"

Akiri's eyes opened wide and she glared at the Kyuubi, a vein in her forehead jutting out quite evidently to the Kyuubi. It's loud cackle of laughter shook the walls of the cavern they were trapped in and Akiri had to do everything in her power to not stand up and hit him with as much power as she could. Instead, she just glared with a look that could pierce rock.

"**I hit a nerve, did I?**" The Kyuubi chortled, grinning maniacally. "**I'm the one inside and I'm here to kick your ass if you don't revive yourself.**"

"What?" Akiri snapped, sitting up and pressing her forehead against the Kyuubi's black nose.

"**It's time to re-appear up there. We're alive.**"

"A jutsu?" Akiri gasped, eyes wide in horror.

"**No. It's my unique ability.**"

"In other words, you need to revive me in order to live yourself, correct?" Akiri asked with a smirk.

"**Fuck you.**" The beast snarled.

"Fine. Let's go."

Akiri gasped, the smell of rotting flesh filling her nose and causing her to choke as she fell off the white rock. A spider scuttled away from her and Akiri hacked up a green-ish fluid from her stomach. Unable to stop, she coughed a few more times before looking about. Again, she gasped and repeated the process again.

The room Akiri was in was dark but with flaming torches illuminating the room. On several white alters were other bodies, each of them preserved by a jutsu that Akiri couldn't even begin to try and comprehend. Bodies that she recognized, like Minato and Kushina, her grandparents. Even the fifth Hokage, who must've only recently died considering she was only in her seventies. Probably something to do with her liver considering she drank so much alcohol.

"Oh god." Akiri whispered, standing up.

She donned a white gown that reached the floor, hiding her tiny pale feet from view. Her arms were covered by white lace and the bodice of the dress was covered in the same lace. She'd been dead for two years but the dress looked brand new. It was odd but very fitting since it was so ghostly. Especially since she was like a zombie now, walking through a crypt that held her descendants within it.

"**Jesus, get out of there!**"

"Kyuubi-kun?" Akiri asked, her eyes darting around the corpses in a moment of childhood fear that the dead would move.

"**I'm pretty weak right now. Get yourself out of there!**"

Akiri nodded, hurrying up the steps of the crypt to a door. She hit the door and much to her surprise, the door opened easily on well-oiled hinges. And there she was, in the graveyard near Konoha. In pure horror, Akiri ran past numerous gravestones until she reached the woods. She gasped for breath before walking through the wood, lost without her sense of direction. The place was said to be timeless but the woods had changed over the two years that Akiri had spent dead.

She saw an ANBU and hurriedly ran to him. But when he saw her, the boy fell back and crawled backwards away from her as though she were a danger to him. He pulled kunai from his pack but it was a clumsy shot. He was clearly dumbfounded and Akiri couldn't blame him. If the Hokage's only daughter suddenly rose from the dead and you were the first to see her, you'd have reacted the same way, if not worse.

"Relax, please. I'm lost-"

"Get away from me!"

Confused, Akiri felt tears gather in her eyes and she soon fell to the floor in tears. Her entire body shook as she sobbed, wondering if everybody would react to her this way. Would her own parents throw weapons at her, eager for her imminent demise? Would her brother run away in fear for his own sanity when he caught sight of her? And what of Itachi? He was the level-headed type of guy that would kill her without delay, knowing she was bad news. But she wasn't, was she?

"Akiri?"

Akiri looked up to see the ANBU from moments ago and her brother stood metres from her, their faces contorted in shock. She recognized the ANBU to be her old friend Masao Inuzuka, the child of Kiba Inuzuka and his wife, Ino. After a second, Masao's dog, Takeshi appeared with it's tongue lolling out.

For a second, Akiri said nothing and instead sniffed.

"Takeshi, get back here!"

Instead, the large husky dog, Takeshi, came over to Akiri and began licking her face with a passion he had always done. The dog was lovely and had always had a soft spot for her. So, as the dog continued to lick her face, Akiri began to laugh and smile. Soon enough, she had her hands in his fur, rubbing his stomach and scratching behind his ears.

"Akiri, is it really you?" Masao asked as he hugged her.

"It's me." Akiri giggled, hugging Masao back as he laughed loudly. Takeshi barked.

"**Oh my fucking god.**"

Akiri embraced her old friend, noticing his sudden growth spurt. He was at least six foot tall and the face paint he donned had gone from cherry red to a more crimson shade. He had clearly grown up, even if he did still sport his strange hair and somewhat immature behavior.

"Brother?" Akiri asked, looking to her older brother.

"How?" Hinato asked as he stared at Akiri, making her feel oddly out of place.

"The kyuubi chakra revived me. I don't exactly know how. But I'm back." Akiri chuckled, smiling.

Hinato looked at her, his eyes wide as he stared at his sister. Though she'd hardly changed, it seemed as though everything about her had in it's own unique way. For starters, though she'd barely grown an inch in height, leaving her still at her tiny 5'3", it had become evident she'd matured, though he didn't want to think about it. But her hair had lengthened, now reaching her waist whilst the blue in her eyes had reddish flecks around the pupil. It was something he certainly didn't want to think about.

"You've changed." Hinato said, looking at her.

"It's been two years brother. May I go home?"

"Alright." Hinato said calmly.

"**At least he didn't say your home was in the ground or something.**"

When Akiri walked through the large doors of her home, she watched Hinato go into the family room and speak to his parents. In the mean time, Akiri looked at photos that were placed around the room. Several of her and her brother, her two parents and even one of her Father and Sasuke. But what caught her attention was a photo of her aunt Hanabi and Konohamaru, which was adorable in it's own way. It was about time that they'd gotten married, though Akiri was saddened that she'd missed that.

"Promise you won't freak out, okay?" Akiri heard her brother said and her concentration snapped back to her brother.

"Hinato! Damn it son-"

"Naruto, calm down. Please. We ought listen to what Hinato has to say."

Akiri heard her family arguing and yelling at one another but she went back to looking about her home. There was a small, tuxedo cat wandering about the living room, looking perplexed by the sight of Akiri. But it soon became interested by something outside and it hopped out of the window.

"Come on in." Hinato called and Akiri walked toward the door slowly, praying that the reaction would be one she could embrace.


	6. Chapter 6

The sound of her parents gasping was a sound that made Akiri fear to look up. Her eyes were focused on the light wooden flooring that had been sun-bleached over the two years she'd spent "resting". Slowly, her eyes wandered up and she caught sight of both of her parents giving her looks of uncertain shock. Hinata's eyes were wide and she looked completely terrified by the look of her own daughter, back from the crypt that Hinata herself had lay her in. Naruto just looked terrified, as though what he were seeing were just merely a hallucination and not his own flesh and blood stood in the doorway.

"Wha- What in hell?!" Naruto yelled, looking at his son as though it was a sick, twisted joke.

"Dad..."

"Hinato what sort of sick joke is this?!" Naruto yelled in horror.

"Dad, please calm down."

"**Tell him about being revived by my chakra.**"

"What is this?!"

"Dad! Shut up and listen! The Kyuubi chakra healed my body because I hadn't got enough chakra and strength to keep holding myself up. It was my own fault for not anticipating the amount of stress and pressure the Kyuubi put on my body. In the end, I'm just lucky to have been revived." Akiri yelled, eyes watering in anger.

In anger, Akiri hit the wall beside her, causing the wall to collapse around her fist. In shock, Akiri pulled her arm away and her eyes widened in shock considering she was so much stronger than she'd been before death. She'd barely put any strength into the hit but still, she'd punched straight through the wall. In horror, Akiri looked at both her parents who looked mortified.

"Byakugan!" Hinata yelled, the veins around her lilac-white eyes suddenly raising and making it clear that she was using the ninjustu.

And when her mother's eyes returned to normal, Akiri understood that her Mother knew it was real. And when Hinata sat down, her eyes were wide and there was a faint smile on her lips. Slowly, Hinata got to her feet and hugged Akiri in her warm arms. Tears slid down her cheeks as she whispered, "My Daughter, where did you go?" causing Akiri to cry also.

"This is our daughter, Naruto." Hinata whispered, "Her chakra is infused with the Kyuubi's chakra as well as her own so she can survive."

Naruto watched Akiri with wide eyes, focusing on her entiriety. Then, he hugged Akiri also. And soon enough, Naruto was crying also whilst Hinato hugged them all as well. It was a moment of shock for Akiri as she hugged her whole family before pulling away. There was one person missing from the hug who deserved to be there as well.

"I hate to ask, but where is Itachi?" Akiri asked, sniffing as she wiped away the tears and smiled.

But the grave look on her parent's faces made Akiri stiffen. Had he done something stupid? She begged the god in the skies that he hadn't died. If she had been brought back and he was lying in the ground somewhere, Akiri didn't think she would want to live her life another day. But it was Hinato who stood up and spoke, his eyes dark as though the story he was about to tell was filled with sadness and despair.

"After your death, Itachi fled the village. He's a missing-nin and we know he's killed many. In fact, I am shortly leaving on a mission to kill him. To find him and kill him." Hinato said, his eyes focused on the ground in a sort of melancholy depression.

"No!" Akiri gasped, sliding to the floor.

"Dad agreed it was best!" Hinato yelled.

"I'll do it!" Akiri yelled, crying as she spoke.

Itachi was determined, still burning with the passion he'd developed when Akiri died all those seasons ago. It had been... Two years? Three? He wasn't entirely sure since every day had passed in a blur of murder and cold-blooded depression. He had only one goal and that was to make a jutsu that would revive the dead. And Itachi had found the one man who could tell him how to do it.

The man was old now, his skin looked like scales and he had a look of murderous insanity in his eyes. His hair had greyed whilst being locked in a prison so deep beneath the ground that not an inch of sunlight would ever penetrate the cell in which the grotesque man sat. His crazy eyes watched Itachi in a sort of delirious enthusiasm as though he believed he was escaping. Itachi was no idiot. He had planned every single little attack and was ready to kill this bastard did he make the tiniest mistake.

His Mangekyo Sharingan was clear to be seen by the elderly man, but he made sure the elderly man caught a glimpse of it. His breath caught in his throat but Itachi made him quickly forget. Then, Itachi smiled slightly before leaning against a metal wall. Then, he glared.

"Make the tiniest mistake and you're dead." Itachi growled dangerously, causing the man to flinch slightly.

"I know." Kabuto chuckled, his eyes filled with intense hatred and anger.

"You have something I want." Itachi growled, causing the snake-man to snicker.

"And what might that be?"

"The jutsu known as Edo Tensei. You're famed teacher, Orochimaru came up with the idea and I know you know the completed form of the Jutsu." Itachi snarled, throwing a kunai past the Snake-man's head and watching the man flinched. He was jumpy and restless, clearly the type that was easily manipulated by someone better than him.

The snake man recoiled slightly from the attack and it was only a matter of seconds before he was laughing like a hyena, that manic laughter echoing around the steel and stone cell. After just a minute, the man had laughed away his energy and was coughing and hacking up dust. Kabuto finally sat up, looking at his attacker with distaste.

"That is correct, but who is it you lost? A sibling, a friend..." The man disappeared and was suddenly behind Itachi's ear. "Or perhaps even a lover?"

"My suffering is none of your business, but what you ought know is that I plan on gaining this information." Itachi said quietly, before smiling. He hadn't moved an inch. "My name is Itachi Uchiha and you will teach me what I wish to know."

"Uchiha Itachi, it has been some time. I haven't heard your name for a good twenty years. But you are different." Kabuto chuckled, grinning. "Your eyes are no longer a dull shade of black, but green. Your demeanor is different. Could you be lying?"

"No lie has left my lips. Upon teaching me this jutsu, I will give you freedom." Itachi said calmly, lifting a palm to cover his eyes.

"And why would I believe that?"

Itachi chuckled, smiling.

"You should understand that you have been within my Tsukuyomi all this time. You noticed my red eyes the second I walked in, but I made you forget and look at my normally green eyes." Itachi said without any sort of emotion in his voice. "Welcome to the class of teaching me."


	7. Chapter 7

Akiri frowned, her eyes focused on her older brother as she got ready to attack him. Her chakra had amazing capabilities and Akiri knew that herself, due to it's infusion with the Kyuubi chakra. So, she got ready. It had been just a week but she was certain she'd got the rasengan down to the best she could do it. She'd been practicing since deciding she would take down Itachi.

What she hadn't told anyone was that she would find him and beat sense into him.

"Your best shot then, come on. Let's go."

Akiri focused the chakra in her hand, using one hand to spin it as though she were doing it physically and not just as a mental help. The blue energy manifested in her palm and the orb began to blow up in size, getting bigger and bigger until she was certain she couldn't put much more chakra into it. Instead of it's colour being a brilliant blue like her father's, or even an indigo like her brother's, Akiri found her chakra to be crimson red anyway. And soon enough, she was running at her older brother.

Hinato dived left but found his feet to be stuck and he landed on the floor. When he looked around, Akiri had disappeared, replaced by just the empty training field and the few adults nearby watching to evaluate Akiri's progress.

"Gotcha!" Akiri yelled as she forced herself down.

Hinato jumped left. The crimson rasengan missed by a mere inch, catching his sleeve before the orb hit the ground. Akiri watched her brother come running at her, grimacing at the damage to his coat. Akiri chuckled, standing to her feet, smiling. She quickly performed a few hand seals before hitting the ground and watching as an over-sized cat jumped into the field. It was a panther, it's green eyes shining as it bounded toward Hinato.

"Not too shabby." Hinato called as he threw a kunai in the direction of Akiri.

Two hand seals and she disappeared in a cloud of dust, as did the panther. For a second, Hinato stood there dumbfounded as the crowd of onlookers gasped in shock. He gulped, feeling the cold metal of a dagger against his throat. Then, he smiled and slowly turned to look at his younger sister.

"You win." Hinato chuckled, seeing the look of pure determination on her face.

Akiri dropped the dagger, turning to look at her Father, her eyes the same blue but now filled with determination. Her long blonde hair hung loose and it was in waves as she pushed the two blonde bangs away from her face. Finally, she grimaced before yelling, "What of the search and destroy mission?"

"It's all yours." Naruto sighed, quickly running to stand beside his daughter.

"Good. I'll leave tomorrow."

Itachi grinned, knowing the jutsu was nearly complete. He knew every step off by heart and all he needed now was a viable vessel for her to take over. He was walking through the town, sporting a black cloak and his old headband to show peace with the small village in the Fire Nation. Smiling, he walked into a flower shop and saw a pretty girl working there.

She was nowhere near as beautiful as Akiri had been, but she was certainly pretty all the same. The girl had long brown hair and a kind smile, making her big, doe eyes look even kinder. After a minute, Itachi caught her eye and he smiled, causing the girl to blush. Then, slowly, he walked over to her and began to bring her in.

"I hate to ask but I feel I need your assistance, if you're not too busy." Itachi asked, smiling kindly as he spoke to the young, naive girl.

"I'm not too busy." The girl said, her voice like a melody as she spoke and a peach blush crept onto her cheeks. "Can I help you?"

"My mother is in hospital and I just want to find her some flowers. Could you possibly help me?" Itachi asked, smiling as though he were slightly nervous by the girl's kind response. "I don't really know much about flowers."

"I'm sorry about your Mother, but I'd be happy to help. Is there a specific colour or species of flower you'd like?"

"Not really, I just want some flowers with a message saying 'I love you and hope you get well soon' sort of thing." Itachi said, smiling like he felt a little awkward. His acting skills weren't too bad at least.

"Well, when I was a little girl, my own Mother fell ill and she was given hibiscus flowers and they are, of course, very small but beautiful flowers. So how about those?" The girl asked, blushing.

"Certainly."

After going through the motions of paying for flowers, Itachi went through the motions of complimenting the girl and finally asking her out to dinner that night. Intoxicated by the idea of having lunch with him, the girl agreed and no sooner had he left the shop did he trash the expensive flowers he'd bought. They smelled putrid and to him, they were too feminine for his liking.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun was elongating her shadow as she left her village, two teammates with her as she ran from her home. Akiri donned a chinese kimono blouse in black with nine crimson red tails on the back. She wore a pair of black shorts and fishnet leggings that reached her upper knee beneath, leaving little to the imagination. Finally, her long hair had been tied up using two senbon so she could use them if it came to the extremity that she would need more weapons than just her kunai.

Behind her stood Masao Inuzuka and his dog Takeshi, the both of them looking oddly relaxed. And behind those two stood the Genius boy of Konoha, Daichi Nara, the boy who was a child prodigy. They were two of her close friends but neither had yet reached Jounin level. In reality, they weren't ready for a mission like the one they'd been given. They wouldn't be ready for a mission this difficult for another year or two.

"So this is his profile?" Akiri asked Shikamaru Nara, the man who had taken it upon himself to inform her of the situation she was really on.

"Yes, S-Rank criminal who has murdered too many out of spite and anger." Shikamaru sighed, "It appears he has captured the Mangekyo Sharingan to use also."

"Mangekyo" Akiri asked.

As she walked onward, Akiri recalled everything that Shikamaru had told her about the advantage that the Mangekyo was giving Itachi and that he would probably not go down without a fight if she was blunt with her tactics. So, she had prepared herself with enough weapons that even if her original plan backfired, she could still take him down.

But it hurt her, thinking that Itachi was following such a dark path that not a single person could understand. It was believed that he had gone insane, believing that he either had something to do with her death or wanted to avenge her death in some way. In the end, he just seemed to go on murderous rampages, killing anyone who got in his way.

"However, there appears to be something darker in his mind."

"And that is?" Akiri asked, watching Shikamaru's aging eyes get darker.

"He recently broke into a prison in the Fire Country, taking one of the prisoners. We know that the prisoner he took was an A-rank turned into S-Rank due to his extreme knowledge in Ninjutsu. But he was said to be most skilled at Kuchiyose."

"Summoning?" Akiri asked, confused.

"Edo Tensei, a forbidden skill."

"He summoned the dead?"

Akiri ran onward, eager to get to the prison in an attempt to gain more knowledge. So, they ran in an eager attempt to reach the prison before nightfall rose. It was bleak outside and the sun was beginning to dip behind the skyline of trees and out of a moment of childlike anticipation, Akiri jumped up to grip a branch above her. In pure pride, she flipped gently before hitting the ground at a run once more. Her teammates chuckled as they ran beside her, including Takeshi.

Around nine o'clock, the ninjas stopped to make a camp for the night. Akiri watched as Masao rested his head on Takeshi, sleeping beside his over-sized husky. Daichi, suffering a small bout of insomnia, sat up and read beside the campfire. After a few minutes, Akiri felt exhaustion begin to take over and she lay down. Her team had been assembled out of sheer luck. Masao and Takeshi worked in close combat whereas Daichi preferred long range attacks. Akiri worked in attacks that varied between mid to close range, so the team was pretty evenly based out. But Daichi was there in case something went wrong; he was intelligent enough to bring up a sophisticated plan that would allow them the ability to either flee or gain the upper hand in battle. Either way, it seemed like a good thing that he was with them.

Rolling over so as to block out the light from the campfire, Akiri looked beyond her to look at the trees. She could hear the sound of running water and sat up, eager to explore. It was a basic instinct, to investigate when you heard something odd. After all, the fire Nation had a surprising lack of running water and random streams or ponds were in shortage. So, out of curiosity, Akiri followed her instincts and got up to take a look around.

"**Damn, kid, you're too curious.**"

"Where are you going?" Daichi asked, curiosity gleaming in his dark eyes.

"Just for a walk, maybe a bath if I come across water." Akiri yawned, to which Daichi rolled his eyes at. It did sound rather stupid, since she was looking for water in a place known for it's lack of the implied liquid, but he didn't stop her.

The forest was different to the one Akiri had known for her entire life. In fact, it was odd and surprisingly creepy. It creeped her out, the way some of the trees were just burnt-up, skeletal remains of a tree. It both intrigued her, and frightened her. Not to mention the temperature. The place felt much hotter than it did back home, like the Fire Country had weaned it's name from the fact of it's risen temperature. Then again, that was probably the legitimate reasoning for it's name so Akiri didn't dwell on that thought.

Especially since she'd just come across a natural hot spring.

Grinning like a miner who'd struck gold, Akiri shot her fist into the air and stripped off quickly, not caring to check if Daichi had for some reason followed her. The idea of warm water flowing over her body was too enticing and she'd soon dipped her body into the warm pool. It wasn't particularly deep and she could sit down around the edge, which she did happily. Entering a state of tranquil bliss, Akiri released her long blonde hair from the senbon holster so that it collapsed into the water and floated on the surface. Sliding deeper into the water, Akiri ducked her head beneath the water.

"**So, you plan on letting me get some of this bliss?**"

Akiri pondered on the thought of letting the kyuubi take over, if only for a little while. Surely, it would be harmless and the Kyuubi wouldn't do any real damage, would he? In fact, Akiri found herself wondering as to the actual nature of the Kyuubi itself. So, out of curiosity, Akiri let the Kyuubi take some control and share her body properly.

"**You realize that I am a female, right, shit brain?**"

"Yeah, but... Fine, just give me your human form look okay? So I still look human, though." Akiri whispered.

Akiri felt the heat rise and after a minute, she looked at her reflection. The girl looking back at her had her face, but her hair was a deep red and her eyes a beautiful shade of amber. In fact, it caused Akiri to gasp as the Kyuubi took total control. Akiri felt like she'd been pushed back into the corners of her mind and for a minute, she found herself back in the strange place where the Kyuubi resided within her. She was in the cage but the door was open, leaving the Kyuubi to grin on the other side.

Itachi stared at the beautiful girl in the hot spring near his camp. He'd decided to make camp in an old house that belonged to an elderly man nearby. The man had allowed Itachi to stay due to Itachi paying the man in response, which was fine. In fact, it had been the old man who had told him about the hot spring, so it had been his initial idea to go and explore.

But now it was his eyes exploring as he looked at the beauty in his hot-spring. Her long, red hair that was on the surface of the water whilst he occasionally caught the view of her amber-coloured eyes. The steam swirled around her body and little rivulets of water slid down her pale ivory neck. She was as pale as a ghost but that didn't deter him. The fact that she was completely naked in the water kept him hooked to the view and he found himself forgetting about the brown-haired beauty that was asleep in his bed. This girl, she was like a delicious dessert whilst the brown-haired beauty was more of a main-course. After all, he was more than full, he'd seduced the brown-haired beauty just an hour ago, but nobody would say 'no' to such a delicious dessert.

Grinning, Itachi was about to walk over to the girl and out of his hiding spot when he watched her rise up out of the water. She had basic ninja training... Interesting. His view was obscured by the thick steam but he watched the naked girl spin, the water forming something like a tornado around her body. Her red hair was the only thing that added colour to the scene, so Itachi found himself activating his sharingan. He got a clear view of the girl's naked body through the steam and he found himself aroused by her beauty. Curves in all the right places and even her face was beautiful, inducing his aroused stupor.

But then he removed the sinful thoughts. He wouldn't think about anyone like that since Akiri's death. He loved Akiri and Akiri alone, so he used women when the need arose. If he felt the urge to satiate his sinful needs, he would find a dazzling woman and trick her into his bed. Then, he would satiate his need for sexual contact and the feeling of arms around him. Afterwards, Itachi would drag his kunai down his arm, ashamed by such sinful thoughts that weren't about the woman he had long ago vowed to love forever. Now, he was certain that he was falling in love again as his stone heart began to beat for this red-headed beauty.

And then she was gone.

Itachi looked about as though he would find her but she was nowhere to be seen, and for a minute, Itachi wondered if he had been hallucinating about the beauty. Of course, he knew that was impossible for she had left one item of clothing; a small, hooped earring that she must've forgotten to pick up after getting out of the spring.

Picking it up, Itachi placed it in his pocket before hurrying back to his "home" to take the girl he'd met earlier that day again. He needed to satiate his hunger and she was the best dessert he could find now.


	9. Chapter 9

"This guy, whoever he is, has enough intelligence to have broken down to the ninth ground beneath the ground level. Approximately 60 meters beneath the ground and he got out again." The man said. "Not to mention he got out with a weakened prisoner who struggled to hold up his own body."

Akiri nodded, looking at the extremely deep hole. No way could that have been an easy feat and even Akiri knew she didn't have the strength to do something like that. Especially since it looked like it had been a well planned out attack. The hole was small, making it look more like a chute downwards rather than a real hole. But according to the man who worked in the prison, it was a well calculated attack on the prison. It seemed like Itachi, to behave in a way that would not only confuse those against him but in a way that only he could work with. His intelligence was really shining through.

"I take it this is because of some illegal explosive?" Daichi asked, his eyes focusing on the elderly man.

"Not quite. The bomb used is a type of explosive tag that would be thrown at the enemies feet and would create a whole or pit that they'd fall into. Normally, they aren't very deep and are just used to throw the enemy off, but this one is different." The elderly man said. "I was told that the explosive tag had been tampered with a little because tags that make a whole bigger than ten feet deep or ten feet wide are illegal because they're damaging. The guy you're looking for is either good at making explosive tags himself, or has a friend in the black market trading."

Akiri sighed, before straightening one of her bangs and looking at the man. He was clearly irritated by her constant sighs and bored huffs, but the conversation wasn't achieving much in her eyes. In fact, she had an idea of a way to achieve much more.

And with that thought, Akiri jumped down the hole. It took seconds of being surrounded by either dirt or concrete until her feet hit the concrete floor. She breathed in the dirty air and nearly choked on the rank gas that filled the cell. The walls were concrete, just like the floor and ceiling, giving the room a feeling as though the walls were slowly closing in. The claustrophobia nearly set in, but then Masao dived down the hole and looked at Akiri with a look of friendly concern.

"This place smells of shit." Masao said before heaving and wheezing at the stench. His sensitive nose probably felt a hell of a lot worse than her own and Akiri tried with all her might to comfort him as she patted his back and banged it every now and then.

Her eyes glanced about the room, taking in different sights. The only source of light was a little lightbulb that was attached to the ceiling and only released a little light anyway. The bed was in the corner, covered in grotesque looking scales and stains from god-only-knew what. The entire room reeked of urine and potentially harmful gases, causing Akiri's nose to wrinkle in disgust. However, what caught Akiri's eye were the drawings on the wall. They were of poor quality, probably made by chalk or another piece of rock. Either way, the effect was a poorly drawn white line.

But the drawing was of a demon-like entity whose bottom half ended like that of a snake. Around it was what appeared to be flames and it's eyes practically stared into your soul, rummaging inside to find something it could work with to deplete your very sanity and faith in your own mind. It was insane, the way such a strange picture that was of such poor quality had so much effect.

"Hey, what is that?" Masao asked, his eyes focused on the strange drawing.

"Susanoo."

Akiri sat down at the Ramen bar, hurriedly eating her third cup of the delicious noodles. Her favorite flavour was a stir-fried beef with leek flavour but she was partial to lemongrass and chicken as well. One thing was for certain, Akiri would never be a vegetarian. She just loved meat too much.

Anyway, she was sat at the bar when Daichi wandered in, sitting beside her and giving her a look of distaste. Daichi believed that meat rotted the brain and that left him as a vegetarian who was disgusted by the even the vague scent of meat. Slowly, he sat down and ordered a simple vegetable Ramen dish before giving Akiri another look, though this was of the macabre sort.

"My Father told me about Susanoo and it being a jutsu bought to life by the Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi wields it, so this confirms our fears." Daichi said, watching as the chef fried the vegetables for his Ramen.

"I recall hearing of it." Akiri sighed. "Itachi told me the story when we were children, though I suppose it was an aim for him and a nightmare for me."

Akiri recalled that day well, the way they had been just children, her at the age of eight and he at the age of nine. Her hair held up in two ponytails and her eyes shining as they sat beside the lake, his own eyes staring at the lake alike her. As he told her about the jutsu his uncle (and his namesake) had perfected before his own father had. Itachi had always spoken of his father highly but it was mostly when he spoke of the eyes he had.

That night, after Itachi had told Akiri of the power of Susanoo, she'd been too scared for her friend to sleep. He was a talented child, even at the age of nine with the pre-developed Sharingan already having formed in his eyes. Not to mention the boy had the ability to perform some of the less basic jutsus that weren't expected of him until he was nearing thirteen years of age. Indeed, he was only four years ahead of those in front of him but Itachi was much stronger than he made out to be. Akiri recalled the day she got stuck in a tree, too scared by her own lack of skill in any sort of ninja art to even attempt to jump down and land without breaking a bone. So, in his anger at her inability, Itachi let his fist hit the tree with such strength that the tree itself collapsed on it's side as she had landed in his arms. It was a perfect landing and even she was shocked by his strength. He was... amazing.

"I understand, but maybe we aren't looking into this deep enough." Daichi said, yawning as his Ramen was placed before him.

"How do you mean?" Akiri asked, looking at Daichi in confusion.

"I looked this up beforehand, knowing there was every chance I'd need to learn about the different types. I believe that Itachi has developed the Mangekyo Sharigan." Daichi sighed.

"How?" Akiri gasped. "How is that even possible?"

"The Mangekyo Sharingan is awakened through the trauma experienced from the death of a person very close to the Sharingan user, normally one that the user felt an extreme social bond with, such as love in the terms of either companionship, blood-relation or even romantic. However, the user normally has to witness or experience this first hand to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan." Daichi responded as though he were reading from a book right there in his hand. "To obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan, one must _feel_ the emotion of losing a friend or family, as merely killing them or watching them die will not activate it."

Akiri looked at Daichi, her face pulled in a taut grimace. She knew their relationship had been a close one, clearly shown by how many memories she had of them both together. It seemed that whilst her relationship with him had been strictly platonic, Itachi had felt indifferently toward that. Could he have felt romantically toward her all this time, even during death.

"The susanoo could easily have been used not only to keep the prisoner under control, but to make him fear Itachi completely." Daichi said before taking up a single string of ramen noodle and swallowing it before continuing, "Also suggesting that the hole could've been there for days without anyone knowing. We just so happen to have stumbled across it now and that then means there has been more than one visit."

It seemed as though things were only getting more complicated, irritating Akiri beyond anything. It seemed like Itachi had been planning it all out for some time but what he'd been planning out, Akiri still didn't know. She could only pray that sooner or later, her intelligence as to his every move would strengthen. Mold until she truly knew his plan...


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry I haven't wrote for a few days, my head is everywhere.

I would like to thank my depleted thinkpan for earning me an endless amount of math revision. (I'm incredibly dumb) so I'm real busy but I think it's about time we visited Itachi and we learnt what is happening with him :3

Btw, writing like **this **is the speech of the Kyuubi c:

* * *

Itachi yawned, feeling glad that he had nothing important to do that day. The snake guy was chained to the wall and his breathing was just so damn irritating, the way he heaved and hacked to try and breathe, god, he hadn't slept in days! Damn Kabuto and his shitty chest.

Itachi rolled out of bed and onto his feet, glaring daggers at the chained man who appeared to have lost all of his strength as his body slumped against the chakra chains. Itachi had used some of his chakra to bound the sickened man and he had barely moved since. Apparently, the guy didn't need nutrition because when Itachi had tried to feed the guy, he'd blatantly refused. To that, Itachi had just shook his head and left it beside the guy. He hadn't moved to get it since.

"I'm out." Itachi all but snarled as he left, realizing he needed to meet the girl he had screwed the night before. He missed the warm feeling inside, the one that he got whenever he was inside a woman and had them within his clutches. That feeling of himself inside a woman, well, it left his nerves tingling, proving that they were still alive when his heart wasn't. In the end, he knew that he would have to bring back Akiri to bring his heart back but he had yet to find out. In the mean time, he was off to find that girl.

Akiri sighed, her appearance having been taken over by the Kyuubi so she felt a little thrown off as she walked down the street. Some of the looks that she got were shocking, people that looked completely stunned by the ravishing redhead in front of them. In a way, she felt a little self-conscious by the stares that watched her with a sort of curious longing.

"**Get over it, I just made you look different.**"

Hurriedly, she flitted through the streets until she found herself stood before the in-town hot springs, the steam from the springs rising over the large wooden fence that removed the undressed people from view. Akiri felt no where near confident enough to go into a hot spring with others, never mind in this new body that was being looked at so endearingly by everyone. It was off putting to say the least.

"**Go on! I wanna enjoy my time out!**"

The Kyuubi's pleading did little to quell her shyness but Akiri continued, knowing it was only fair that she allowed the kyuubi to have some freedom and pleasure. Sighing, she walked into the changing rooms and began to undress. Much to her surprise, the women inside were very much worse than the men. There was a large number of envious looks directed towards her and for a minute, Akiri felt the self-consciousness rise up again but she pushed it away.

Today was the day she got over herself and got some self-control. She was Akiri Uzumaki! The girl who had risen from the dead and was on a mission - she just so happened to be taking a break. So, she removed her underwear and wrapped a small white towel around her body before watching all the women flee out of the changing room and out through one door. However, Akiri was going to prove that she was more outgoing and opened the other door before leaving!

The second hotspring was much steamier and Akiri could barely see an inch above her. Finding herself at the pool's edge (she was very close to falling in), Akiri removed the towel and folded it up before climbing into the hot, steamy waters. But when she lay her hair back, she felt it cover up her breasts and she mentally thanked her long red hair.

After five minutes, Akiri opened her eyes and a gasp fell straight from her red lips.

"You realize this is the private pool, right?" Itachi asked, his lips curved upwards in a smile.


End file.
